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Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: See chapter one
~~~~~~~
Turn Evil Into Good
Part 2
Negotiations
“We come to claim the Centre ours,” Jarod dropped the bomb.
There was a collective gasp. The people in the room visibly had trouble coming to terms with that request. Some blinked at Jarod’s demand or frowned. Others were silently whispering among each other.
“And how do you come to make that request?” The director asked after clearing his throat.
The room was put into silence once more and everyone stared curiously at Jarod and mistrustfully at Parker.
“Miss Parker is the legal heir of the Centre. It has been passed down in the family from generation to generation,” Jarod stared back unaffected.
“Yes that certainly is true but don’t you think it is a request that we have to turn flat down exactly because of that fact. The Parker’s have not exactly been the right persons to run the place as the evil doings prove,” Assistant Director Kelsey replied.
“Jarod, you gave us the evidence yourself. You wanted our help to bring down that place. What made you change your mind about that?” Danny asked confused.
Jarod smiled sadly. “I never changed my mind, Danny. We want to take over the Centre and turn it around,” Jarod said.
“So you used us to take it down?” Danny asked incredulously. “You used me,” he accused.
The other agents shared some looks.
“No Danny, I never used you,” Jarod stated calmly and shook his head.
“What was that then?” Danny shot back. He crossed his arms in front of his chest in anger.
“I never lied to you or anything like that. True, I haven’t told any of you the whole truth but you didn’t need to know at that point. All you needed to know was that there was a company in Blue Cove that had been doing illegal business for years without anyone’s notice. We wanted to bring down the Centre and we wanted to do it with legal help,” Jarod replied.
Danny just stared at Jarod. Jarod returned Danny’s gaze, then looked around in the conference room and then back to Danny while speaking.
“Could we have done it without your help?” Jarod posed a rhetorical question only to answer it seconds later. “Most certainly. Did we want to do it alone? No, we didn’t! We wanted to have the legal agencies on our side and we wanted to get the world’s attention on the company. Which brings us directly back to our request we came to make,” Jarod looked away from Danny and over to the Directors.
“You better explain everything; from the beginning,” FBI Director Turner said.
Jarod nodded. “As I said, we want to take over the Centre and start anew,” when he saw the first agents were about to protest, Jarod put up a hand to silence them. “We want to take the whole company around and get away from the evil doings that have been part of the agenda for far too long. We don’t intend to continue the way all the other people in charge did,” Jarod said. “Let me repeat that: We ‘don’t’ intend to go on with what they have been doing for years,” he repeated forcefully, poking his outstretched finger around in the air for emphasis.
“That’s why you brought the legal agencies in,” Danny gasped, suddenly getting Jarod’s and Parker’s way of thinking.
Jarod looked back over to Danny and smiled at the sharp-witted agent. “Yes, Danny. That’s exactly why we brought in the agencies. You all know at least part of what I am capable of. Miss Parker here is a pretender, too,” he went on without so much as acknowledging the gasps that came from the agents in the room. “If we wanted to take over the Centre without anyone noticing, we most certainly would have succeeded but we didn’t want to do it that way. We wanted to bring everyone’s attention to the Centre so that there is a fair chance that similar companies will be put under serve observation and so that we can start to clean house here.”
“You took a huge risk and you made it all the more difficult for you,” the CIA Director frowned.
“Yes, we did and yes it will be more difficult for us now to start business again. The place will be crawling with newspaper agents, police officers and certainly your men for quite some time,” Jarod nodded.
“But that’s exactly what we wanted,” Parker finally stepped into the conversation. “We want the Centre to become legal and that will only be possible when everyone is aware of what has been going on there.”
“Give us a good reason to trust her, Jarod,” Danny challenged.
“You should trust her because I trust her,” Jarod answered the challenge without hesitating.
Director Turner tilted his head to the side. “Go on, Jarod.”
“Miss Parker and I planned the Centre’s demise together. We have spent the better part of the last few months to do it. Miss Parker never sympathised with the business the Centre had been doing but she couldn’t do anything against it. To go through with this plan she had to flee from there herself,” Jarod explained.
“You said she never sympathized with the Centre’s doings but we have other information proving the opposite,” Assistant Director Kelsey looked at Parker with a quirked eyebrow.
Parker’s lips twitched. “I always had to play along the Centre’s rules. I tried to step into their path several times and I have been punished for it. I didn’t really have an option other than playing along. No one plays foul with the Centre and stays unharmed,” she said.
“But you did play foul?” some agent asked.
Parker grinned. “Yes, I did. I never really played along with their plans. Though I was in charge of the hunt for Jarod, I never captured him.”
“He was better than you,” an agent suggested.
“Maybe that for once. But I am a pretender, too. Remember? I may not be trained and certainly not as good as Jarod is, but I’m a pretender,” she smiled.
“You said you’ve been punished?” FBI Director Turner half asked and half stated.
Parker looked down at her hands briefly and breathed. When she looked up, she was calm and composed again and she went on. “The man I loved and wanted to share my life with was murdered because I decided to walk away from the Centre. I have been threatened and shot,” she replied.
“How do we know that you don’t play foul now and… pretend?” CIA Director Braff asked.
“You don’t know. You can only trust Jarod’s and my word,” Parker replied evenly.
“We can trust her,” Danny suddenly said. He had quietly observed Parker and Jarod all the time they were in the conference room.
“Based on what do you say that, Danny?” Turner asked, turning to the younger agent.
“She was with him when they first came to me with the evidence,” he said.
“And you didn’t see the need to fill us into that?” Director Turner questioned sternly.
“I didn’t realize it at first and when I finally made the connection, I wanted to speak to Jarod myself first. I never got the chance to do so until now,” Danny shrugged evenly.
“I do have one more question,” CIA Director Braff spoke up. “Why do you even want to take over the Centre? Why not walk away?”
“Yeah, Jarod. I would like to know that, too. Why don’t you finally turn away from the place that ruled your life, now that you get the chance? Why do you still stick around the place that gave you,” Danny paused and looked over to Parker, “or obviously both of you, so much heartache?”
“We grew up in that place. It was certainly not a place where children or any other persons want to stay in but…,” Jarod struggled to find the words.
“Though we both wanted to take revenge on the Centre for all they put us through, we,” she smiled and turned to Jarod. “We couldn’t really do it and we decided that we want to try and make something better out of it,” Parker said.
“A lot of people got hurt because of what the Centre did and many died trying to fight against what they were doing,” Jarod looked over to Parker.
Parker swallowed and breathed deeply.
The room was plunged into silence again.
“I think it would be best if we discuss the case some more,” the FBI Director said and looked around the room at the agents sitting there.
Jarod and Parker nodded and got up from their seats simultaneously as it was clear that they weren’t invited to take part in that discussion.
“Thank you, Jarod,” Danny nodded to his friend.
Jarod turned back and smiled.
“We will call you back in, soon,” CIA Director Braff said.
To be continued…
~~~~~~~
Part 2
Negotiations
“We come to claim the Centre ours,” Jarod dropped the bomb.
There was a collective gasp. The people in the room visibly had trouble coming to terms with that request. Some blinked at Jarod’s demand or frowned. Others were silently whispering among each other.
“And how do you come to make that request?” The director asked after clearing his throat.
The room was put into silence once more and everyone stared curiously at Jarod and mistrustfully at Parker.
“Miss Parker is the legal heir of the Centre. It has been passed down in the family from generation to generation,” Jarod stared back unaffected.
“Yes that certainly is true but don’t you think it is a request that we have to turn flat down exactly because of that fact. The Parker’s have not exactly been the right persons to run the place as the evil doings prove,” Assistant Director Kelsey replied.
“Jarod, you gave us the evidence yourself. You wanted our help to bring down that place. What made you change your mind about that?” Danny asked confused.
Jarod smiled sadly. “I never changed my mind, Danny. We want to take over the Centre and turn it around,” Jarod said.
“So you used us to take it down?” Danny asked incredulously. “You used me,” he accused.
The other agents shared some looks.
“No Danny, I never used you,” Jarod stated calmly and shook his head.
“What was that then?” Danny shot back. He crossed his arms in front of his chest in anger.
“I never lied to you or anything like that. True, I haven’t told any of you the whole truth but you didn’t need to know at that point. All you needed to know was that there was a company in Blue Cove that had been doing illegal business for years without anyone’s notice. We wanted to bring down the Centre and we wanted to do it with legal help,” Jarod replied.
Danny just stared at Jarod. Jarod returned Danny’s gaze, then looked around in the conference room and then back to Danny while speaking.
“Could we have done it without your help?” Jarod posed a rhetorical question only to answer it seconds later. “Most certainly. Did we want to do it alone? No, we didn’t! We wanted to have the legal agencies on our side and we wanted to get the world’s attention on the company. Which brings us directly back to our request we came to make,” Jarod looked away from Danny and over to the Directors.
“You better explain everything; from the beginning,” FBI Director Turner said.
Jarod nodded. “As I said, we want to take over the Centre and start anew,” when he saw the first agents were about to protest, Jarod put up a hand to silence them. “We want to take the whole company around and get away from the evil doings that have been part of the agenda for far too long. We don’t intend to continue the way all the other people in charge did,” Jarod said. “Let me repeat that: We ‘don’t’ intend to go on with what they have been doing for years,” he repeated forcefully, poking his outstretched finger around in the air for emphasis.
“That’s why you brought the legal agencies in,” Danny gasped, suddenly getting Jarod’s and Parker’s way of thinking.
Jarod looked back over to Danny and smiled at the sharp-witted agent. “Yes, Danny. That’s exactly why we brought in the agencies. You all know at least part of what I am capable of. Miss Parker here is a pretender, too,” he went on without so much as acknowledging the gasps that came from the agents in the room. “If we wanted to take over the Centre without anyone noticing, we most certainly would have succeeded but we didn’t want to do it that way. We wanted to bring everyone’s attention to the Centre so that there is a fair chance that similar companies will be put under serve observation and so that we can start to clean house here.”
“You took a huge risk and you made it all the more difficult for you,” the CIA Director frowned.
“Yes, we did and yes it will be more difficult for us now to start business again. The place will be crawling with newspaper agents, police officers and certainly your men for quite some time,” Jarod nodded.
“But that’s exactly what we wanted,” Parker finally stepped into the conversation. “We want the Centre to become legal and that will only be possible when everyone is aware of what has been going on there.”
“Give us a good reason to trust her, Jarod,” Danny challenged.
“You should trust her because I trust her,” Jarod answered the challenge without hesitating.
Director Turner tilted his head to the side. “Go on, Jarod.”
“Miss Parker and I planned the Centre’s demise together. We have spent the better part of the last few months to do it. Miss Parker never sympathised with the business the Centre had been doing but she couldn’t do anything against it. To go through with this plan she had to flee from there herself,” Jarod explained.
“You said she never sympathized with the Centre’s doings but we have other information proving the opposite,” Assistant Director Kelsey looked at Parker with a quirked eyebrow.
Parker’s lips twitched. “I always had to play along the Centre’s rules. I tried to step into their path several times and I have been punished for it. I didn’t really have an option other than playing along. No one plays foul with the Centre and stays unharmed,” she said.
“But you did play foul?” some agent asked.
Parker grinned. “Yes, I did. I never really played along with their plans. Though I was in charge of the hunt for Jarod, I never captured him.”
“He was better than you,” an agent suggested.
“Maybe that for once. But I am a pretender, too. Remember? I may not be trained and certainly not as good as Jarod is, but I’m a pretender,” she smiled.
“You said you’ve been punished?” FBI Director Turner half asked and half stated.
Parker looked down at her hands briefly and breathed. When she looked up, she was calm and composed again and she went on. “The man I loved and wanted to share my life with was murdered because I decided to walk away from the Centre. I have been threatened and shot,” she replied.
“How do we know that you don’t play foul now and… pretend?” CIA Director Braff asked.
“You don’t know. You can only trust Jarod’s and my word,” Parker replied evenly.
“We can trust her,” Danny suddenly said. He had quietly observed Parker and Jarod all the time they were in the conference room.
“Based on what do you say that, Danny?” Turner asked, turning to the younger agent.
“She was with him when they first came to me with the evidence,” he said.
“And you didn’t see the need to fill us into that?” Director Turner questioned sternly.
“I didn’t realize it at first and when I finally made the connection, I wanted to speak to Jarod myself first. I never got the chance to do so until now,” Danny shrugged evenly.
“I do have one more question,” CIA Director Braff spoke up. “Why do you even want to take over the Centre? Why not walk away?”
“Yeah, Jarod. I would like to know that, too. Why don’t you finally turn away from the place that ruled your life, now that you get the chance? Why do you still stick around the place that gave you,” Danny paused and looked over to Parker, “or obviously both of you, so much heartache?”
“We grew up in that place. It was certainly not a place where children or any other persons want to stay in but…,” Jarod struggled to find the words.
“Though we both wanted to take revenge on the Centre for all they put us through, we,” she smiled and turned to Jarod. “We couldn’t really do it and we decided that we want to try and make something better out of it,” Parker said.
“A lot of people got hurt because of what the Centre did and many died trying to fight against what they were doing,” Jarod looked over to Parker.
Parker swallowed and breathed deeply.
The room was plunged into silence again.
“I think it would be best if we discuss the case some more,” the FBI Director said and looked around the room at the agents sitting there.
Jarod and Parker nodded and got up from their seats simultaneously as it was clear that they weren’t invited to take part in that discussion.
“Thank you, Jarod,” Danny nodded to his friend.
Jarod turned back and smiled.
“We will call you back in, soon,” CIA Director Braff said.
To be continued…
